As a result of Hershman’s decision, Marquette is now on the board when it comes to Class of 2016 verbal commitments from the nation’s No. 1 hotbed for lacrosse, the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tristate region.

The 5-foot-9, 145-pound Hershman, a quick and hard-nosed righty, is also Hen Hud’s first 2016 commit. You can watch his highlight here.

“Jared is a hard working, competitive kid,” Hen Hud coach Craig Solomon said. “He has improved greatly over the past year because of his commitment to getting better at his skill. He has extremely fast hands and has a great ability to put the ball wherever he wants based on how the other team is playing against him.”

Now, here’s a Q&A with Jared on his commitment.

What were the main factors in your decision?
Marquette University has top-notch academics and an abundance of programs to major in. The campus was beautiful and the coaches were great and really made me feel welcomed and comfortable.

Also, the idea of playing for a rising lacrosse program seemed very exciting.

What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I visited Ohio State, Albany and Stony Brook. I considered Cornell, Dartmouth and Navy.

What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
My strengths include that I have very quick hands at the faceoff X, as well as stick skills and the ability to find an outlet once I win the faceoff. I would describe my style of play as being very scrappy and my commitment to giving a 100 percent the whole time that I am on the field.

What area of your game do you need to work on?
I would like to work on improving my shooting accuracy and my stick skills, which will allow my to be a dominant all-around middie.

I also intend to increase my size and strength, and hope to achieve that by devoting much of my time to the weight room.

How did you get introduced to lacrosse and what other sports have you played?
Through Carson Jacobs, who first introduced me to lacrosse through Cortlandt Youth Lacrosse, which he ran. I have also played football and basketball.

What travel team do you play on what showcase events did you participate in?
I play with my local club team, the Cortlandt Wave, and with Iron Horse Lacrosse, a club team based out of Dallas, Texas.

I attended the Moonlight Showcase Invitational, Best of the Best National Invitational, the Tri-State Lacrosse Festival, the Terps Young Guns Shootout and the Hofstra Blue and Gold Showcase.

I will be attending the Terp Fall Classic, the UpLax Shootout and Jake Reed’s Nike Blue Chip camp in the fall and the FOC National Face-Off Combine in January.

Any final thoughts?
I would like to thank my mom and my dad for constantly supporting me in everything I do, making the commute to tournaments and clinics, and for keeping me focused throughout school and the recruiting process.

I would like to thank Carson Jacobs, who first introduced me to the sport of lacrosse and helped foster my love for the game. I would like to thank my faceoff coach Matt Schomburg for giving me the skills and teaching me everything I know about faceoffs.

I would also like to thank my high school coaches, Coach Solomon, Coach Hirsch, Coach Variano and Coach Lepore, for all there help and support and for helping create my work ethic that got me in the position I am in today.

Finally, I would like to thank Coach Surran, Coach Donald and Coach Miller of Iron Horse Lacrosse for giving me the opportunity to play with and against great competition during summer circuit.

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